Earlier on someone had mentioned French black metal, well in some circles, I would be deemed a blasphemer but I concur, they rule the scene right now. Amusingly, their best, or at least in my opinion, is one of the more well known amidst them- Deathspell Omega.

Earlier on someone had mentioned French black metal, well in some circles, I would be deemed a blasphemer but I concur, they rule the scene right now. Amusingly, their best, or at least in my opinion, is one of the more well known amidst them- Deathspell Omega

Despite my misgivings about being parochial and uncritically buying into the whole second-wave mythos, I still think the Scandinavians are stomping all over the rest of the world when it comes to black metal—even today, that is, not just historically. Germany, Australia and Eastern Europe are the runners-up.

Just in time for the cooling of the air and the darkening of the days, I've gotten my hands on this very ominous and atmospheric gem of heavy music.

Dolorian's Voidwards is almost like the metal equivalent to the Cure's Pornography. Though its clear in certain segments that the band possesses some degree of technical know-how, this is hushed, kept in the background in favor of suffocating ambience. Songs carry on at a trudging pace, simpler sounds are layered upon one another and blended together, giving the music a quality of almost being like a dense, forboding fog that is also slightly toxic and hallucinagenic to wander through. Even the way in which their guitars are tuned, and the echoed way in which the notes are played in softer interludes adds to the album's formidable eeriness. Once again, similar to the way the Cure approached things in Pornography. It is not at all surprising to me that Dolorian are Finnish, though I would be surprised if they didn't record this album during the long night of their northern winters. I hope they stay together and keep this stuff coming.

Horned Almighty's new album might be of interest to some here. They've never really convinced me thoroughly on record before, but their new album Necro Spirituals (!) is very, very good. It's definitely on the rockier, catchier, Motörized/Hellhammer-/Celtic Frosty side of black metal, but mixed with both a certain dash of cold and a certain gleeful cosmic nihilism and satanism in the lyrics.